FIVE MINUTES: Sport

Daily Maverick Staff Reporter

Daily Maverick Staff Reporter

Sport

15 Oct 2012 01:52 (South Africa)

A round-up of the weekend’s sport news from around the world.

BLITZBOKKE FINISH THIRD

The Springboks Sevens team claimed third place at the Gold Coast Sevens on Sunday, while Fiji successfully defended its tournament title by beating New Zealand 32-14 in the final at Skilled Park. The teams now head to Dubai, where the second round of the World Series will take place from 30 November to 1 December.

DJOKOVIC TAKES TITLE IN SHANGHAI

Novak Djokovic exacted revenge on Andy Murray for his US Open final defeat by saving five match points. He outlasted the Briton 5-7 7-6 6-3 and won the Shanghai Masters title on Sunday. The resilient Serbian fought back from the brink of defeat, however, trailing by a set and 5-3 before staving four match points in the tiebreak to force a tense decider. The world number two then broke Murray, winner in Shanghai for the last two years, in the seventh game and again at 5-3, prevailing on his third match point to triumph when his opponent went long.

VETTEL CLAIMS VICTORY IN KOREA AND TAKES TITLE LEAD

Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix in a Red Bull one-two finish on Sunday to take the overall Formula One lead from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with four races remaining. Vettel's third win in a row, fourth of the season and 25th of his career, left him on 215 points with third-placed Alonso now on 209. Australian Mark Webber, who had started on pole position but was overtaken by his team mate off the grid into the first corner, finished second to anchor the first one-two of the season by any team.

ARMSTRONG COULD TAKE A LIE DETECTOR TEST

Lance Armstrong might take a lie detector test to clear his name from doping allegations, his lawyer said on Sunday, as the ripples of the biggest scandal to hit cycling prompted Australian officials to consider an amnesty for cheats. Cycling Australia's board will meet this week to decide action against Armstrong's former teammate, Matt White, after he confessed to doping and stepped down as sports director of the Orica-GreenEDGE team. Board president Klaus Mueller said amnesty was one of the options to find out how deep the problem was in Australia.

BAFANA LOSES TO POLAND

Bafana Bafana narrowly lost 1-0 to Poland in an international friendly on Friday. While the defence was shaky for most of the game, Itumeleng Khune had yet another blinder of a game to spare South Africa some blushes. Coach Gordon Igesund, however, downplayed the loss and said the result should not be the main focus – he's hoping to use the game time to help his charges prepare for the African Cup of Nations.

IOANE IN DOUBT OVER NEW ZEALAND CLASH

Digby Ioane may not participate in Saturday's final Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand because of a lingering knee problem. The 27-year-old, nursing the injury following the Wallabies' 25-19 win over Argentina in Rosario earlier this month, will be assessed on Monday ahead of the clash in Brisbane.

SIXTH 2012 TITLE FOR AZARENKA

Victoria Azarenka won her sixth WTA title of the season when she beat Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-4 at the Generali Ladies. With 14 career titles now in the bag, Azarenka also extended her unbeaten run without conceding a set to 13 matches since losing the US Open final in September.

Photo: Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany sprays champagne on himself after the South Korean F1 Grand Prix at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam October 14, 2012. World champion Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix in a Red Bull one-two finish on Sunday to take the overall Formula One lead from Alonso with four races remaining. Vettel's third win in a row, fourth of the season and 25th of his career, left him on 215 points with third-placed Alonso now on 209. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won

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By GOOD GOVERNANCE AFRICA

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